Something New is proud to be an annual partner of California State University, Northridge (CSUN), bringing carnival games, big energy, and good times to two of the campus’s most anticipated student events every year.
From the opening-day excitement of Mata Fest in August to the after-dark energy of Matador Nights in September, Something New has become a familiar part of the CSUN student experience. Students return to campus to find interactive games, exciting prizes, and high-energy facilitators ready to turn an ordinary campus event into something students can actually get excited about.
What started as event entertainment has grown into an ongoing partnership built around consistency, trust, and a shared goal: getting students to put down their phones, step away from the sidelines, and play.
This isn’t a one-time activation. It’s a partnership that keeps coming back, keeps evolving, and continues to bring students together through play.
CSUN Mata Fest & Matador
Nights | Campus Carnival
Games | Something New
Case Study
One Package, Multiple Ways to Play
What makes the CSUN partnership unique is the opportunity to bring the Something New experience to two very different moments in the academic calendar.
Mata Fest kicks off the school year with a 3-game setup designed to welcome students back to campus and create an immediate sense of energy and community. With students getting settled into a new semester, meeting new people, and finding their campus rhythm, the games give them an easy and approachable way to jump right into the fun.
A few weeks later, Matador Nights brings an entirely different energy. With a full 6-game experience, Something New helps transform the evening into a lively, interactive campus experience where students can compete with friends, discover new games, win prizes, and keep the energy going throughout the night.
The scale changes. The atmosphere changes. The games can change. But the goal stays the same: create experiences that get people playing together.
By bringing Something New to both events, CSUN gets a flexible entertainment partner that can adapt to the moment while delivering a recognizable and consistent experience across the semester.
Turning Campus Events Into Playgrounds
There is something about a great carnival game that makes it almost impossible to walk by without stopping.
At both Mata Fest and Matador Nights, Something New created natural opportunities for students to interact, compete, and connect. Students could walk up and start playing without needing to know the rules ahead of time, and our facilitators were there to make the experience approachable, energetic, and easy to jump into.
Whether students arrived with a big group of friends or wandered over on their own, the games created an instant social connection. A friendly challenge could turn into a competition between roommates. A quick attempt could turn into a rematch. And a win could turn into a celebration with everyone watching.
The prizes added another layer of excitement, but the real draw was the experience itself: something to do, someone to challenge, and a reason to stay and play.
That combination helped the games become more than just an attraction. They became part of the atmosphere of the event.
Features & Add-Ons
The carnival games came with full-service support from Something New as a carnival game vendor, turning the setup into a seamless, end-to-end experience.
Expert Facilitators
Our facilitators are the heartbeat of every event. At both Mata Fest and Matador Nights, they brought the hype, kept the games running smoothly, and made sure every student who walked up felt like the main character of the moment.
Premium Prizes
Nothing gets a crowd going like the chance to win something. A solid selection of prizes added a layer of friendly competition that kept students coming back for one more round and made every win feel like a celebration.
Multi-Event Package
With 3 games at Mata Fest and 6 games at Matador Nights, Something New delivered a flexible, scalable package that matched the unique energy and scale of each event while keeping the experience consistent and high quality across the full partnership.
Why it Worked
The success of the CSUN partnership comes down to a simple idea: people are drawn to experiences they can participate in.
The games gave students something physical and interactive to do. The facilitators made it easy to participate. The prizes added a little friendly competition. And the variety of games gave students plenty of reasons to stop, watch, play, and come back for another round.
Most importantly, the experience fit naturally into the rhythm of campus life.
Mata Fest gave students a playful welcome back to campus. Matador Nights gave them a high-energy way to spend an evening with friends. Together, the two events created multiple opportunities throughout the semester for students to connect through play.
For CSUN, it meant having an entertainment experience that could flex with different event formats and audiences. For Something New, it meant building a long-term relationship with a campus that continues to make room for play.
And with more CSUN events ahead, this partnership is just getting started.
Carnival Games,
Reimagined.